God’s Divine Promises

The Divine promises make known the good pleasure of God’s will to His people, to bestow upon them the riches of His grace. They are the outward testimonies of His heart, who from all eternity loves them and fore-appointed all things for them and concerning them. In the person and work of His Son, God has made an all-sufficient provision for their complete salvation, both for time and for eternity. To the intent that they might have a true, clear and spiritual knowledge of the same, it has pleased the Lord to set it before them in the exceeding great and precious promises which are scattered up and down in the Scriptures as so many stars in the glorious firmament of grace; by which they may be assured of the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning them, and take sanctuary in Him accordingly, and through this medium have real communion with Him in His grace and mercy at all times, no matter what their case or circumstances may be.

The Divine promises are so many declarations to bestow some good or remove some ill. As such they are a most blessed making known and manifesting of God’s love to His people. There are three steps in connection with God’s love: first, His inward purpose to exercise it; the last, the real execution of that purpose; but in between there is the gracious making known of that purpose to the beneficiaries not only show His love fully to them in due time, but in the interim He will have us informed of His benevolent designs, that we may sweetly rest in His love, and stretch ourselves comfortably upon His sure promises. There we are able to say, “How precious also are your thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them” (Ps. 139:17). …more…

Profiting from the Word
A.W. Pink

Josh Groban “Amazing Grace”

The beautiful “Amazing Grace” — how sweet the sound!

Amazing Grace (How sweet the sound)
That sav’d a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev’d;
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believ’d!

Thro’ many dangers, toils and snare,
I have already come;
‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall profess, within the vail,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call’d me here below,
Will be for ever mine.
* * *
John Newton

The Surety of God’s All Sufficient Grace

ALL SUFFICIENT GRACE*

God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that you, always having all-sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good word and work.” —2 Corinthians 9:8

All-sufficiency in all things! Believer! Surely you are “thoroughly furnished!” Grace is no scanty thing, doled out in pittances. It is a glorious treasury, which the key of prayer can always unlock, but never empty. A fountain, “full, flowing, ever flowing, over flowing.” Mark these three ALL’S in this precious promise. It is a three-fold link in a golden chain, let down from a throne of grace by a God of grace. “All grace!”—”all-sufficiency!” in “all things!” and these to “abound.” Oh! precious thought! My need cannot impoverish that inexhaustible treasury of grace! Myriads are hourly hanging on it, and drawing from it, and yet there is no diminution—”Out of that fullness all we too may receive, and grace for grace!”

My soul, do you not love to dwell on that all-abounding grace? Your own insufficiency in everything, met with an “all-sufficiency in all things!” Grace in all circumstances and situations, in all vicissitudes and changes, in all the varied phases of the Christian’s being. Grace in sunshine and storm—in health and in sickness—in life and in death. Grace for the old believer and the young believer, the tried believer, and the weak believer, and the tempted believer. Grace for duty, and grace in duty—grace to carry the joyous cup with a steady hand, grace to drink the bitter cup with an unmurmuring spirit—grace to have prosperity sanctified—grace to say, through tears, “Your will be done!”

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*John McDuff “The Faithful Promiser”
[photo courtesy of JoyPals Design Studio]

“Happy Hearts & Treasures” — For Where Your Treasure is …

Title:        “Happy Hearts & Treasures”

Author:    JoyPals.com-ReformedWomen, Editor-Publisher

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“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Matthew 6:21

February 14 is the day we celebrate Valentines Day, the “happy heart” or “sweetheart” day.  The   special one in which we demonstrate the love we have for another.  I am reminded of past Valentine celebrations with red heart-shaped boxes of yummy chocolates, long-stem red roses, a moving verse in a lovingly chosen card, heart-shaped cakes deliciously prepared for the family dessert and, last but not least, those cherished “happy bubble heart” homemade Valentine cards given to us by the children.  It is these “happy hearts” and what they represent that I want to share about here.

Our children loved to draw “happy bubble hearts” on their handmade Valentine cards to us.  They would draw two hearts, big and puffy flowing into one another with the words “I love you” and their favorite “heart” verse from the Bible, signed proudly with their name and several “little” hearts with arrows through them just for good measure.  They would then “post” them all over the house, on our bedroom door, the fridge, doorways and every other place they could think of.  They rejoiced for each one that we found and the joy they brought us.  This was their special way of demonstrating their love to us on Valentines Day.  They knew these “happy hearts” would become treasures and reminders to us of their love. 

As I recall those special Valentine days, I am reminded of a much greater gift of the “heart”  – the gift of Christ and His love. The Bible tells us that Christ “demonstrated” His love for us in that “while we were yet sinners” He “died for us” so that we would have life eternal. Not because of anything good in us but because of His amazing love and grace.  Like our children who gave us “happy hearts” “just because” we were mommy and daddy and love us in spite of us, Christ gave Himself for us because He loves us with an everlasting love.  The “Worthy” gave to the unworthy and we received the gift of a new heart — one that He fills with love for God and others.  His love was demonstrated by giving.  It was active and it gave Him joy to give it.  It is through this gift of His love and a new heart that we can demonstrate our love:

 “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”  Mark 12:30-31 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.  In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” I John 4:7-11

Love is demonstrative – it gives and in the giving, it is joyful and “fills up” and “runs over” in our hearts. “Give, and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom [“heart”]” It is just like when we received those treasured “happy hearts” from our children, we felt a “joy” and a heart full of love for them that we could just pop.  This full heart can also be described as a “burning heart” – one that is filled to the brim with love that goes deep within.  The disciples understood this well: “And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures?” Their hearts were hearts “filled” with love for Christ and joy in hearing and understanding His Word. They learned, as we do, that by giving we receive.  A “happy heart” then is a “joyful giving heart,” one that is joined together in love for Christ and others.

As we think of these things, we are reminded that the love of God as defined and described in all of its meanings in God’s Word is wonderful.  We all have favorite passages that teach blessed truths about God’s love and how we are to love as His children.  There are not enough books in the world that could be written to cover such a glorious subject but it is one in which we should delight and seek to study and understand.  It is basic to our understanding of God and why we are to love.  Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones in his marvelous book “The Heart of the Gospel” points us to Christ and His atoning work on the cross as the foundation of love and happiness and shows us that through Christ’s giving, we receive. Dr. Sinclair Ferguson in his little book, “A Heart for God” says that a loving heart is one that “yearns to grow ever closer to Christ in a living relationship,” one in which the knowledge of God is paramount.  He goes on to say “knowledge of God is really the heart of all true understanding in the Christian life and this “knowledge of God is our greatest privilege.”  Thus, a heart that has knowledge of God will love and worship God and the result will be a “heart filled” with love for others.  It bears the fruit of a Christ-filled heart.  And finally, Leon Morris in “Testaments of Love, A Study of Love in the Bible,” says: “Love begets love. When God’s love reaches us, it transforms us. Truly understanding what Christ did in dying for us and truly responding to that love means becoming a different person.” 

Valentine’s Day is a wonderful day to demonstrate love in a special way to others.  For Christians, every day is Valentine’s Day.  Each day is an opportunity for “happy hearts” to demonstrate their love for God and neighbor and every day is a day of happiness and rejoicing because Christ dwells therein.  

 “Come Thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy grace….
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.”

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 Romans 5:8

 Hebrews 12:2

 Luke 6:38

 Luke 24:32

 Lloyd-Jones, Martyn:  “The Heart of the Gospel” 1991, Crossway Books

 Ferguson, Sinclair: “A Heart for God” 1985, NavPress

 Morris, Leon: “Testaments of Love, A Study of Love in the Bible” 1981, Eerdmans Publishing

 Robinson, Robert, “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” 1758